An investigation has been launched by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) after a worrying number of second hand car buyers lodged complaints after being sold ex-car hire vehicles without being told. The full scale of the problem came to light after 70,000 consumers contacted the OFT to make their grievances known.

ex-car hire vehicles sold as having"one owner"

One of the most common complaints highlighted by the duped car buyers was the fact that they had paid over the odds for a vehicle which had been sold to them as having “one owner.”The accusation of misleading sales techniques will be looked at thoroughly in the investigation, the focus will be upon second hand car dealerships and not private vendors. Other gripes included problems with the vehicle including some serious defects and complications with regard to servicing.

The intention to cover-up the car’s past seems to have been deliberate. Certain car hire firms have used an abbreviation of their trading name in the place of the previous owner’s details in order to conceal the fact it was a hire car.

However some car experts have pointed out the merits of buying an ex-rental car as the advantage of buying such a vehicle is that it will have been serviced regularly and undergone routine check-ups. Although they did stress that the consumer should have the right to know the car’s history before making the decision to buy the hire car and not be tricked into making the purchase.

The second hand car business was estimated to have been worth £35 billion in 2008. However it appears that a handful of unscrupulous car salespeople are attempting to further increase their profits by inflating the prices of ex- rental vehicles by concealing their history.

Due to the barrage of complaints which had been received, the OFT felt a thorough investigation was required in order to establish whether new stricter regulations are needed to safeguard second hand car buyers.